Head Extreme Pro Padel Racket

Head sit in an awkward middle ground in padel. The Extreme Pro is their flagship attacking diamond, and at £180-235 it is asking to be compared with the Metalbone, the AT10 and the Bela Pro. It does not lose those comparisons on power, but it loses them on weave quality.

The 3K carbon face is rougher and slightly less rigid than 12K or 18K alternatives, which actually helps spin generation but reduces the firm thwack feel premium players want. The Hard EVA core is genuinely hard — closer to the Nox HR3 than the softer EVAs in the £100 bracket — so you need a full swing to get anything back. Bandejas plough through, and the diamond head with high balance loads the top third for serious smash power.

Where the Extreme Pro shines is on the second-bounce attack. The combination of stiff core and rough 3K weave produces a very repeatable heavy ball that sits up off the back glass and punishes weak defensive lobs. Where it disappoints is on touch shots: the racket is just not designed for short angled volleys at the net, and you can feel the head wanting to go through the ball rather than placing it.

Ideal player is the 3.5-4.0 advancing club player who has hit a power ceiling with their teardrop and wants to commit to attacking padel, but cannot stretch to £270 for the Adidas. Avoid if you play backline-heavy doubles.

PDH Sports and Pure Racket Sport stock it routinely. Wait for end-of-season and you can usually pick one up at £180.